Angels in America: If Otterbein is tackling the first half, must the second be far behind?

Wednesday

Nov 30, 2011 at 12:01 AMDec 1, 2011 at 8:53 PM

On Broadway, the two parts of Angels in America were presented in repertory, with the first half winning the 1993 Tony award for best play and the second half, the top 1994 award. Offering both halves allowed New York audiences to appreciate the overall architecture and dramatic/comic impact of Tony Kushner's epic Pulitzer-winning fantasia about American life, politics, religion and sexuality. In central Ohio, Otterbein University Theatre is presenting a rare revival of Angels in America Part 1: Milliennium Approaches, which continues at 7:30 p.m. Thursday Dec. 1, 8 p.m. Friday Dec. 2 and Saturday Dec. 3 and Dec, 7-9 in the Campus Center Theatre.

On Broadway, the two parts of Angels in America were presented in repertory, with the first half winning the 1993 Tony award for best play and the second half, the top 1994 award. Offering both halves allowed New York audiences to appreciate the overall architecture and dramatic/comic impact of Tony Kushner’s epic Pulitzer-winning fantasia about American life, politics, religion and sexuality. In central Ohio, Otterbein University Theatre is presenting a rare revival of Angels in America Part 1: Millennium Approaches, which opens at 7:30 p.m. Thursday Dec. 1 and continues at 8 p.m. Friday Dec. 2 and Saturday Dec. 3 and Dec, 7-9 in the Campus Center Theatre.

In one respect, it makes sense for most regional theaters and universities to tackle just the first half, which can be enjoyed in one evening. (Some critics also feel that the first half is superior to the second.) Both halves together can be a marathon that tests audiences and actors alike. But the first half – at three acts, running more than three hours – introduces all the characters and develops the theme of change enough to build to a thrilling and satisfying climax. “Fifteen years before the millennium comes in the year 2000, human beings are getting ready to make a change by examining our society,” director Ed Vaughan said. The title refers metaphorically to the better angels of our nature as well as to an actual supernatural messenger whose coming is foretold by the challenges, setbacks, and portents experienced by the central characters. At the mythic center of the often-hallucinogenic drama is Prior Walter, a contemporary gay New Yorker who has been diagnosed with AIDS, prompting his partner Louis to leave him. Kushner weaves their story with a heterosexual Mormon couple on the verge of divorce and famous anti-communist lawyer Roy Cohn, battling his own illness and diminishing power. “He’s the only real historical figure in the play,” said Jake Robinson, a 21-year-old Otterbein senior who plays Cohn. “As the play progresses, Cohn goes from the peak of his wheeling and dealing to realizing he will be disbarred. As he gets more desperate, he’s also getting sicker and sicker.” “But Cohn always believes that he’ll still win.” Most characters get bad news in the first act, which sets up the multiple threads including how AIDS and closeted homosexuality affect relationships and force people to question their identities and social roles In the second of the three acts in Millennium Approaches, subtitled In Vitro, the characters are pushed to examine their lives and problems, Vaughan said. And in the third act, subtitled Not – Yet – Conscious, Forward Dawning, the characters struggle with a dawning higher awareness. “It’s very Brechtian for Kushner to remind us what each act is about,” Vaughan said. “The messenger or angel can’t come until we are ready to receive the message."

If Otterbein’s production attracts a large and enthusiastic audience, who knows? Perhaps the theater department will tackle the second half in the next season or two. Or perhaps not. Meawhile, Vaughan doesn’t think it’s necessary to see the second half to appreciate the first. “Does the first half stand on its own? This play prepares for the messenger. Once the messenger arrives, it’s over,” he said. “I think Part 1 holds its own. Would it be fun to do Part 2? I don’t know. That’s another journey.”